~ Teaching Games in Catastrophic Times ~

UBC | Green College | 7 October 2025

Jentery Sayers | UVic Media Studies

As a researcher at UVic, I acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt) Peoples
on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples
whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

Next 15-20 Minutes

teaching games: 2015-present

from catastrophe to more catastrophe

four themes across my courses

questions re: political purpose

1. Gaming Industry

game tech is war tech

play and pleasure are entangled with that tech

context: consolidation, authoritarianism
+ global violence

See Stone's War of Desire and Tech and de Peuter and Dyer-Witheford's Games of Empire

For the classroom

not "play these games," but
"pick a game / some games"

not simply which games to play, but
which software, systems, and platforms

foster a culture informed by boycotts

2. Metagaming

socializing video games by regulating play

video games don't have rules; they've mechanics

examples: "you're playing it wrong,"
optimization + Gamergate

context: ongoing hate + harassment campaigns

See Boluk and LeMieux's Metagaming, Trammell's The Privilege of Play,
Paul's Optimizing Play, and Chess's Play Like a Feminist.

For the classroom

not how to play "correctly," but
how to identify toxicity + change behaviours

not "casual vs. hardcore," but
social layers of play and motivation

foster a culture of communicating
needs and desires (collective and individual)

3. Alternatives to Fun

political games where the goal isn't fun

also, assist modes in design + difficulty discourse

context: the cruel teacher + the entitlement sim
(Boch and Jayanth)

See Phillips's Gamer Trouble and Ruberg's Video Games Have Always Been Queer.
Next slides: Umurangi Generation (Tali Faulkner), Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over the Age),
+ 1000xRESIST (sunset visitor 斜陽過客, incl. Pinki Li)

For the classroom

not how do games model or simulate Y or Z, but
how do we take games up? how do we construct
ourselves with + through them?

not how do we "git gud" at games
(bc "this game wants me to die"), but
how do we design accessible + inclusive systems?

fostering a culture of heterogenous play

See Celeste's assist mode and Mbembe's Necropolitics.

4. Video Essays

from prototyping to writing with gameplay footage

from "learn to code" to arguing with games

integrating stewardship with critic's workflow

context: layoffs, delisting, planned obsolescence
+ the content industry

See Gray's Intersectional Tech and Bulut's A Precarious Game.

For the classroom

not how to turn play into content, but
how do we keep this game found?

not a division of gaming occupations, but
building solidarity with devs and studios

foster a culture of shared labour

Thank you

Many thanks to Sarah N., Gratianne, Biz,
Sarah C. G., Chris, and PopCC

Jentery Sayers | UVic Media Studies